Widening learning gap

Yet another reminder of how India is failing to use education to leverage its demographic dividend

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The results of the Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development Rashtriya Sarvekshen (PARAKH RS), formerly known as the National Achievement Survey (NAS), is deeply disturbing for a country that is banking heavily on the so-called demographic dividend to claim its place in the sun. Some of the most concerning insights include only 55% of grade 3 students assessed could arrange numbers up to 99 in ascending and descending orders; 29% of grade 6 students could represent and compare commonly used fractions in daily life (such as 1/2, 1/4) as parts of a whole; and a mere 28% of grade 9 students explored the idea of percentages and applied it to solve problems. Such insights are common even in non-mathematical aspects—only 56% of grade 6 students could explain the functioning of local institutions (family, school, bank/post office, etc.) and analyze their roles, while just 37% of grade 9 students were able to describe biological changes (growth, hormonal) during adolescence.